Cold
by SylvanLore
Summary: Trapped in the most desolate, inhospitable place in Eternia, two enemies need to work together to survive.
1. Chapter 1

A biting wind threw hard ice-flakes at Teela's chill-bitten face.

Ahead of her, and indeed around her, rose the peaks of the South Polar Cap. It was a maze of blue and green islands, floating in the lapping waters, ever changing as the winters froze them together and the summers melted them. Sun and wind and water sharpened the peaks into razors, and she had to navigate carefully lest she'd be tricked by the soft-looking snow.

The wind had picked up. Dark gray clouds covered the sky, not letting a ray of sunlight through and turning the world steel gray. The snow that fell was not the angel-looking wads that would fall on a cozy winter morning, but little sharp discs of jagged steel that felt like they could slice the skin open as sure as any blade. So far they were still few, surfing down from the clouds on strong gusts, but the young warrior could see the heavy clouds would soon burst open like over-stuffed pillows.

Her skin had started sporting goosebumps an hour back, when she had neared the mountains that marked the southern end of the Great Continent. Her skin felt rough and harsh, but she had shrugged the discomfort off as a mere annoyance, testing herself to see how much she could stand. It was only the last ten minutes, as she flew over the trench of water south of the mountains, that the chill had gotten stronger, announcing her drawing close to her final destination. Now, Teela finally admitted defeat and started to check for a place to land.

Adam had told her that when He-Man and Stratos had visited the North Polar Cap and first met the Kulataks they hadn't worn much more than their loincloths. Teela had believed she could stand the same temperatures just as well, but born and raised on the tropical Fertile Plains she now realized she had been naive. Too late had she realized that Stratos' feathers had protected him well from the cold, and He-Man had according to eyewitnesses been outfitted with another armor – small, but no doubt imbued with magic that kept him warm. Teela had neither of those possibilities, and she was thankful her father had known better.

"You're mad." he had said. "You have no idea how much you are underestimating the cold."

"I'll be fine, Father." she had reassured while preparing the wind raider. "It's just a short trip, and you have trained me well for temperature shifts."

"That sort of training won't help you in extreme areas such as the polar regions. You must take some warm clothes with you."

She had relented, if just to put his mind at ease. But again she had come to realize how much she had overestimated her training. Thankfully it was a minor if embarrassing mistake.

The sensors on the instrument panel were beeping occasionally, adjusting the heating in the seats and calculating the balance to handle the frigid winds. The radar showed a few blips – lifeforms, whatever lived here. Fish, she supposed, but the Masters had discussed the possibility that intelligent life may live down here in the south as well.

For the longest time, the people of Eternia had believed both polar caps were vacant of life. After all, what could survive in such harsh cold climates? No greenery could grow here, no herbivores could graze and no predators could hunt. The discovery of the Kulataks had turned every academic mind upside-down. While the Kulataks were careful to maintain their own ways and traditions, they realized they were no-longer protected by obscurity, and they were ill-equipped to face the dangers of Eternia with what limited knowledge they had of the rest of the world. Trade lines had been swiftly established, supplying the Kulataks with technology, information and to form alliances, and supplied Eternia with precious eternium – the strongest alloy in the world. Man-At-Arms was still exploring its full capacities, and the Kulatak warriors and sages bolstered the defenses of this world.

So it was inevitable that eyes would turn south as well, to the Southern Polar Cap. No doubt their enemies were eyeing any possibilities that could be found here, so the Masters had to act first. And Teela had immediately volunteered.

This would be an excellent opportunity for practice, she thought. The sensors her father had installed in the wind raider could detect life forms and raw materials, and the thought of the challenges she would have to overcome to reach and examine them sent prickles of anticipation through her chest. She doubted she would find another lost civilization, but if she did she trusted she had observed enough court meetings and visiting ambassadors to guide her through. And she had her trusted staff attached to her belt.

But it was blasted difficult to find a good place to land. She had expected all this to be a difficult experience, yes, but she had … kind of imagined the difficulties would begin _after _she had landed. But wherever she looked there were only slopes and edges. The wind made her shiver, and her knees drummed together.

Aha! There, in front of her!

A shape of a darker gray than the surroundings grew out of the mist. Another iceberg, she assumed, but this one was far larger than any of the others: No ends could be seen, the fog curtained its mass. It towered above her as she flew closer, a massive gray wall with horizontal cracks.

Teela managed to find a flat outcrop sticking out from the wall which could fit her wind raider and landed. She left the engines running – she was only getting dressed before she continued. The sensors kept beeping, with a _blip, blip_ on the radar that indicated there was an animal nearby. She jumped out of the vehicle and almost immediately slipped on the ice, but caught herself by bracing against the raider.

_First lesson_, she thought amused, _mind your step!_

With a firm grip on the raider to support herself she stepped over to the backseat, and dug for her extra clothes. Leggings, shirts and a coat, gloves and socks and more and more, all manner of protection, all of it carefully picked out by Man-At-Arms. Now she just had to make sure the fabrics weren't blown out of her hands while she …

SNAP!

Startled she looked down.

A large crack had formed under the vehicle.

It was too heavy.

Immediately she dropped the clothes and threw herself to the front seat, but too late. The ice cracked and crumbled into pieces under her feet, and the wind raider fell.

The water was too close. The only thing Teela could do was change target and she hurled herself the other way. She managed to grab what was left of the ice shelf, the cold sharp edge cut her almost to the bone as her hands slid, but she had enough presence of mind to endure the sting.

A large splash spat droplets at her bare thighs. She glanced down over her shoulder and saw the vehicle quickly vanish into the dark waters. Clenching her teeth she pulled herself up with some effort, leaving bloody smears on the ice shelf.

The snow seeped into her boots, making them soaking wet and turning her feet into two blocks of ice. She balled her bleeding fists and crossed her arms, trying to keep the warmth in her body. The wind bothered her even more now than it had on the wind raider, because now it had turned from an annoyance into a catastrophe. Her far too short white dress slapped around her, the whirling ice flakes cut her bare skin. The metal in her jewelries pained her as they drank the cold.

She was lost.

The Eternian South Polar Cap was desolate and perhaps life-less. Her vehicle had plummet into the deep, taking with it her clothes, rations and her communicator – her only life-line to the rest of Eternia. She had only a vague sense of where exactly she was, and she was stuck on this iceberg, with a wall behind her and the sea in front of her.

She tried to think, forced her panic down with a great deal of iron-will. Shelter and fuel to make a fire, that's what she needed. She looked around. The iceberg had calved some time in the past: A portion of the upper part of the wall had fallen off and left a thin path that she could follow. Hoping against hope she prayed she would find a cave where she could wait for her friends to get worried and start looking for her. She doubted she could survive that long, but what choice did she have?

She started to hack teeth, and shivered out of control. She wanted to curl up and into herself, her iron-will starting to slip. The cold was painful in a way she had never been able to imagine. It was like a thousand needles were attacking her, the sharp, hard air was almost impossible draw into her lungs. She tried desperately to remember her training in what to do when the temperature dropped, but it was as her father had said – it was practically useless out here. In the battle of the elements versus her own will, the weather won.

"_A wrap around your neck does as much good as another shirt. The blood vessels are close to the skin in your neck, and will lead warm blood to the rest of your body."_ she suddenly remembered her father teaching her.

She wrapped her long hair around her neck, using it as a scarf, and tried to see where she was heading. The iceberg loomed on her right side, high walls where snow got stuck and the wind battered. Occasionally lumps of snow would fall from somewhere high and land behind and in front of her, and occasionally the path was cracked, forcing her to jump over cuts, or climb over a slippery boulder.

Teela was in deep thought and was rather startled when she suddenly saw footprints in front of her.

They were fresh; with the falling snow she estimated they had been made only a few minutes ago. They were human feet, boot-clad and larger than her own. A man's foot? He had walked around here for a moment, the tracks went back and forth and crossed each other. But the excitement was enough to make Teela momentarily forget her freezing. What luck! Perhaps it was an explorer, or maybe someone was actually living here? She crouched and examined the tracks until she found the ones leading away. They led upwards, following the ledge which went fairly steeply up along the iceberg. She had to thread carefully, the strong wind howled and rolled against the cliffs and tried to throw her off. It leveled out ahead, and she hurried there. The tracks were hard to see like this, but they had rounded a corner around a cliff.

She came up, but in her eagerness she slipped.

Her numb body reacted too late. Her feet couldn't get a new grip, and she toppled over the edge. But right then a large shadow moved behind her and suddenly there was a vice grip on her arm. A figure draped in thick bearskins caught her, and dragged her back on the ice.

Teela drew a shaky breath, trying to still her heart, and looked up to thank the stranger. But he had already released her and was heading into … into a high, broad crack in the ice.

A cave!

"Wait!" Teela called and hurried after the stranger. Her legs trembled violently and she collapsed just a few steps into the cave. Her knees hurt as they bruised on the hard ice floor, and she shook her hair out of her eyes. She was usually not this clumsy, and she realized it was getting dangerous. She was loosing motor functions.

The stranger ignored her. Large backpacks lay on the floor, and a vehicle parked nearby, covered with an anti-freeze sheet. The stranger bent over the packs and started to pick with something.

"Ah … Th-thank you f-for saving me." Teela said and wrapped her arms around her again. ""My vehi-hicle is destroyed, and I-I've lost my p-provisions, my c-c-c-communicator and my c-clothes. C-can you give m-me a ride o-out of h-here?"

The stranger stood up again, seemed to think for a moment, then turned towards Teela while felling down his hood.

"You shouldn't thank me just yet." Tri-Klops said.


	2. Chapter 2

Teela stared for two seconds, then she bolted up and attempted to kick Tri-Klops in the head. He caught her foot easily and threw her on the ground again. Teela bounced back up and tried to unhook her staff … but it wasn't there. It was supposed to hang in her belt, but it didn't! She must've dropped it! It must've …

Tri-Klops smiled broadly, and held her staff up teasingly. She realized he had snatched it when he saved her from falling.

She clenched her bloody fist and felt the cuts sting. She threw herself forward to punch him, but he side-stepped her, grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm. She gritted her teeth and tried to sneak a foot around his ankle to trip him, but he only twisted harder, making it feel like her arm would break. He made a sudden movement, spun her around and drove a sharp elbow into her side, knocking the air out of her lungs and giving her a stabbing pain in the ribs.

Teela realized she was too weakened by the cold to put up a proper fight. Her reflexes were dulled, her legs didn't obey her as they used to, and her aching hands were practically useless, otherwise the two warriors would have been more evenly matched. But she'd rather die fighting than die of cold – or give up.

She spun on one leg and tried to kick him. He dodged, grabbed her ankle and threw her into the wall. The world felt like it made a barrel roll, the young warrior gasped and coughed as she forced air down her lungs again, and her shoulders ached. Fueled by pure anger she got up on her legs again, rolled her joints in an attempt to soften them up a bit, then flew against her enemy, a sprinted jump she hoped to use to tackle him into the ground.

But Tri-Klops lashed out one arm, and although she managed to avoid the full force of his strike, he grazed her enough to slap her to the ground. Her head felt like it had been put on an anvil, her whole left side of her face aching, and the cave spun.

_Get up! Get up! He's coming for you!_ she screamed in her head, but no matter how much she forced herself she couldn't stand again. She was too tired, to cold, too dozy. Her eyes stung of tiredness, her mind faded in and out of consciousness, and her hands and knees and her bottom hurt from cuts and bruise after bruise. She trembled violently, the ice sticking on her bare skin.

Tri-Klops stood there for a moment, making sure she didn't try anything. Then he returned to his backpacks and took up two rolls of rope. Teela didn't regain her wits in time before she felt her hands and feet getting bound. She tried to kick him and crawl away, yelled and cursed at him, but he just grabbed her legs and forced her down.

"Stop wriggling." he said and took a better grip around her.

"Let me go!" she screamed, but he just grunted amused. "LET ME GO!"

"Why, so you can stumble off the cliff again?" he asked and tightened the knots.

"I'd rather die than become a prisoner of Skeletor – or you!" Teela yelled. Tri-Klops chuckled.

"One death or another, does it matter?" he asked and suddenly pulled her up by her collar. He dragged her out again into the cutting air and she got her eyes full of snowflakes. She tried to struggle away, but he yanked her sharply and her feet only made furrows in the snow. She shook her head to get the crystals out of her eyelashes, but another, harsher haul made her suddenly swing like a doll, dangling over the cliff, hanging from Tri-Klops' out-stretched arm.

"Shall I let go?" he asked with a smile. Teela looked down. The polar sea lapped at the ice, like an old toothless man sucking on a sweet, making the ice floes bob and crush against the wall. It was more of a slush than clear water, a gray goo that piled and sank, but she would sink straight through it, and with her hands and feet bound she couldn't swim.

"Let's see … I recon you've got between five to fifteen minutes before you die of hypothermia, although the shock will probably kill you sooner." Tri-Klops mused. Teela didn't say anything. She shook violently from a shiver and pressed her knees firmly together. Fear gripped her, made her want to grab onto Tri-Klops' arm like a life-line. A small part of her tried to convince herself that a quick death in these waters was better than whatever fate Tri-Klops had in store for her, but the rest of her rotated in fright. Looking at the ice floe and she could all too well imagine the endless, lifeless depths beneath; The darkest, most lonesome grave in all of Eternia.

"Shall I let go?" he asked again.

She despised herself for her weakness, and hated him for bringing it out of her. She closed her eyes, clenched her jaw, and shook her head.

He pulled his arm back slowly, letting her feet graze the snow on the blessedly solid cliff, then dragged her back into the cave. She tried to get up on her feet, but only slipped, and the ropes cut into her ankles. He dropped her unceremoniously by the bags and picked up some cloth he wrapped around her injured hands, the blood seeping through the material immediately. Then he folded out a large skin of thick fur which he rolled her into, threw her and the backpacks over his shoulders and set off.

Teela grunted by the blunt treatment, but didn't say anything. Embarrassment burned in her face, that she had been so easily frightened. She tried to soothe her bruised ego; that she was only waiting for an opportunity; that it was foolish to throw her life away out of pure spite when she maybe could get a chance to free herself – and maybe turn the tables and have _him_ captured instead. Yes, that was right – He had no idea what danger he put himself in by letting her live!

She wriggled, trying to find a comfortable position with his shoulder pressing into her stomach. She was getting cramps in her arms and in the hollow of her knees.

At least the fur was warm.

She couldn't see very well slung as she was over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but he was definitely heading deeper into the cavern. After a while Teela realized the cavern was actually the vestibule to a maze of tunnels and caverns stretching deep into the iceberg, like an anthill. Astonished she looked around.

Everything was ice. Shimmering from Tri-Klops' lantern which light was reflected endlessly around them: Dull ice, clear ice, iridescent ice. The floor was a tarnished mirror and Tri-Klops walked carefully. They crossed narrow ice-bridges over deep maws, edged alongside sharp shelves where they had a view over other tunnel openings, navigated between stalagmites and stalactites, and came upon running brooks where sea water had carved its way in and melting water was funneling its way out.

Soon Teela was hopelessly lost, but the inventor of Snake Mountain seemed to know these tunnels well, because he trudged on without a moment's hesitation. But his purpose here remained a mystery.

There was no way to measure time here, other than to count her own heartbeats. After what Teela assumed was several hours Tri-Klops finally stopped. By then Teela was dead tired and her body ached after having hanged like this for so long.

It was a crossroad of four narrow tunnels, dark and shaped like a wormhole. The young warrior assumed water had flowed here once, to shape these holes. Tri-Klops put her down with his bags, and then pulled out and set up a portable campfire from one of his rucksacks. He lit it with a lighter, and a crackling fire began to burn in the cavern. Teela inched closer to the flames, curled up under the heavy fur, silently thankful for the warmth that finally seeped into her stiff and numb limbs. She massaged her knees the best she could with her bound hands and the cramps eased a bit.

He had food as well. Tri-Klops roasted some meat and bread, the smell making Teela's stomach growl. She hadn't eaten anything since her early breakfast back at the palace, and nearly the whole day had passed since.

To her great surprise, when the roasting was done, he actually offered a bread cake and a piece of venison to her.

"Eat up." he said.

It smelled heavenly, but although hungry she was reluctant to accept even a single crumb from him. Tri-Klops studied her with a thoughtful expression, as much as could be determined from what was visible under his visor.

"If you don't eat that I'll save if for my next meal. But I won't offer you anything again. Don't you dare waste food." he suddenly said.

Teela glanced at him with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. But she accepted the food and ate up. Who knew? If Tri-Klops kept her alive long enough she might find a way to escape, or the Masters might find her …

They ate in silence, sharing a cup of red wine he heated over the fire. The steaming brew burned her tongue in her eagerness to drink, but warmed her chest and her stomach, and she sighed with content. She let the steam warm her face and hands, feeling as if lumps of ice inside her fingertips were finally thawing.

After their sparse supper, Tri-Klops took out a long-stemmed pipe and stuffed it with dried, dark blue-green leaves from a pouch in his belt. The spicy, sweet smell when he lit it was sharp and attentively familiar, and Teela wrinkled her nose.

"Healer's herbs?" she asked surprised.

"Would you like a breath?" Tri-Klops asked and leaned back against the wall, looking relaxed and content like a cat.

She shook her head, but some leaves to rinse her mouth with would've been nice, she thought. The healer's herbs were a weed that grew all over Eternia, but it was really a welcome little miracle-plant. It was used as a strong antiseptic and was a favorite by healers to treat both wounds and diseases. Cooks used it in food and cakes, and people everywhere mashed the plants into a paste they chewed or brushed their teeth with. Teela had never seen anyone smoke the leaves before, though.

"I worked briefly as an assistant to a herbalist when I was younger than you." Tri-Klops explained. "Smoking the leaves makes almost as good result as the paste, but this way they also clear the lungs and cleanse the body. You should try it sometime."

"I'd rather have some to chew on." Teela said hopefully. Tri-Klops gave her a loop-sided smile, but didn't give her any. His teasing put her in a bad mood. She sat herself up a little straighter, glanced at him as he exhaled a white cloud, then decided to be bold.

"Why have you spared me?" she asked.

Tri-Klops sat quiet for a moment.

"I'm sure you can think of countless reasons. Believe whatever you wish." he finally said cryptically.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought I was pretty clear."

"Well, you aren't. Why are you here?"

"Hunting."

Teela felt her heart jump. Was he hunting one of the Masters? Had he thought she had arrived with company? Was that why he had captured her?

"And I'm the bait?" she asked.

"That is an excellent idea."

"Don't make any change of plans on my account." Teela sneered.

"On the contrary, you may be of good use in this."

"Anything … or anyone … in particular you're hunting?"

"An uppity warlord who has begun to cause trouble."

"A warlord resisting Skeletor? One of many, perhaps?"

"No, just one. And don't get any ideas, girl. Harga is no hero – he's been plundering villages and slaughtering those who could not provide for him. He is similar to Beastman – almost as strong, just as smelly, and even more violent. He is more likely to rape and enslave you than help you."

"Why would someone like that resist Skeletor?"

"Don't you know _anything _about the politics in the Dark Hemisphere?"

Teela hadn't even known there _was_ such a thing as politics in the Dark Hemisphere. Even long before Skeletor's time the Dark Hemisphere had been considered little more than an uncivilized wasteland with roaming packs of bandits. But Tri-Klops' condescending tone made her flush with anger.

By the campfire, Tri-Klops told her that the Dark Hemisphere had always been split into thousands of little ever-changing territories. Much of the Dark Hemisphere were barren cliffs and cold deserts, but there were areas which hosted farmlands, forests which provided game, and coastal areas were people were fishermen. These regions were small, but vital: The organs which made the whole hemispherical body survive. And the trade lines were the veins through which the hemisphere's life-blood flowed. Those who controlled the regions and the trade lines had the power.

The rulers of these territories had been warlords who had constantly tried to take over each other. They had been nobility, merchant princes, cultist leaders, tribal chieftains and common bandits. Keldor had been one of these warlords, with the difference that _he_ had been the last one standing. Finally he had claimed Snake Mountain as a permanent testimony of his power, the Dark Hemisphere had been united under his sole rule, and all the other warlords had either been killed or been forced to swear allegiance to Keldor. They now ruled as stewards of their regions, paying weekly, monthly and yearly fees to Snake Mountain. The borders were now constant, farmers could work in peace without being preyed upon, traders distributed wares to all over the hemisphere, and anyone who disrupted the stability was harshly dealt with.

Thanks to Skeletor, the Dark Hemisphere was enjoying a long period of peace.

It wasn't a just or nice system, but it was the closest thing to order the people had had for centuries. Traveling tribes of bandits remained, of course, but they knew to keep low enough to avoid the Lord of Snake Mountain's attention. But occasionally a brash chieftain or some of the stewards would conspire to try and challenge Skeletor's claim of power. Skeletor rarely lowered himself these days to deal with these upstarts. It fell on his minions' lot to do that, which was just another testimony of his power.

"Today, my target is Harga." Tri-Klops told Teela. "He's been gathering followers lately, and refuses to heed Skeletor's demands. He needs to be taken care of before he becomes an actual problem."

"And you need my help with that?" Teela sneered. She put up a confident front, even though she had nothing to give. Everything she had now was by Tri-Klops' generosity, and if she goaded him enough he might change his mind about keeping her warm, fed – and alive. Still, her responses were automatic.

"Every little bit helps. And a beautiful young girl might draw him out."

Teela glared at him.

"He's proven more resourceful than I imagined." Tri-Klops mused, more to himself than Teela. "To think he actually took his escape to the South Polar Cap … I would like to find out more what he knows, and that means I need to capture him alive."

So that was his purpose here. Teela thought of her own mission – to map out the South Polar Cap and search for available resources here. But the South Polar Cap was – or so she had assumed – an uncharted and uninhabited archipelago of icebergs. But Tri-Klops seemed to know it well – and seemingly so also this Harga. Perhaps there was more to this place than she had thought?

Before Teela could voice her question Tri-Klops yawned. He knocked the ashes from the pipe, pulled out a knife and – to her surprise – cut the ropes from her wrists and feet. She massaged her wrists carefully when the blood came rushing back, and she looked quietly questioning at the man.

"I assume you won't try something so stupid as flee? Get some sleep. Tomorrow you'll carry your own weight." Tri-Klops said and rolled himself up in his own cape.

Teela watched him, unable to tell when he fell asleep. The blood rushed to her cheeks in hopeless anger. She was stuck with him. Even if she killed him and took his supplies she still didn't know the way out. She would wander around here until the cold or starvation took her. The Masters had no way of finding her here. There were no tracks on the ice she could follow back to the opening, and if she tried to take and hide a weapon from him he would soon find out – and kill her.

She was stuck here, with Tri-Klops as her only life-line. And he knew that.

She wanted to hit him. She wanted to kill him. She wanted to scream and rage and do _something_.

Instead she rolled herself up in the large fur skin Tri-Klops had given her, curled up into a ball to keep warm, and tried to sleep.


End file.
